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May 26, 2010

Day Threeeee

This morning I noticed that I have been kissed by the Israeli son, for the first time. Oops, I mean sun. (Bad joke.) But anyway, bring on the tan!Going downstairs for breakfast was different today because ever since the baptism yesterday afternoon, we all feel this certain closeness with each other. What's terrible on my part is the fact that I can't remember anyone's name. So to save myself from embarrassment, I don't even try to guess their names and just leave that part out of the conversation. So instead of saying "Good morning Joe", I say "Good morning!!" (With an extra big smile on my face). My terrible memory makes me feel awful about getting everyone's names mixed up, especially since they all know my name. (You usually don't forget the names of the only 19 year olds on the trip, it's just a fact).

Also at breakfast this caucasian guy met me at the water dispenser with a "hey, how are you doing?". Turns out he's from Kansas and is on leave from the American military.

Today in Israel they're having this huge military drill. So while looking out the window on the bus you can hear the war sirens going off, see tanks firing out in the desert, giving off puffs of black smoke, and little green men running around everywhere with their M16 rifles. It's pretty cool! I feel like I'm taking a front row seat on all the action of the middle east; it's like I'm reporting live for Fox News.

First we drove up to a look-out point in Golan Heights; we saw the typical Israeli landscape of rolling sandy hills and green shrubs.

We also went to an old abandoned army trench. I went inside, of course!

Then we went to the Golan Heights Winery! This was sooo great. This consisted of a one-hour tour of how the world famous wine is made, then a free wine-tasting. I must say that I do enjoy a nice glass of red wine, white wine, and dessert wine. And as a bonus, we got to keep our Yarden wine glasses! Let's pray it doesn't shatter in my luggage on the way home to Canada...

Next we went to an Olive Oil factory. Olive oil production flourishes in Israel, since there are olive trees EVERYWHERE. And olive trees never die. They don't need to be irrigated or tended to. I also heard this rumour that they are fireproof. Who knows? The best part about this factory tour was dipping bread into different strengths of olive oil (virgin, extra-virgin, pure, lite...the list goes on. All I want to know, is how can something be extra-virgin?)Now, remember at the beginning of this entry when I mentioned I met a guy from the American military? So yes, you didn't think that I just decided to randomly include that in my blog, did you? There's MORE to this story. Well...we ran into each other here at this olive oil factory and ended up talking for awhile. The world of tourism is sure a small one!The rest of the afternoon involved visiting nature sites under the plus 40 blazing desert sun. I'm not complaining about this weather at all, it's more like bragging. (Haha) The only downside about this heat is the fact that it made me fall asleep on the bus TWO times today. That's terrible! When did I start getting so old?

When we got back to the hotel Charmaine and her mom and I decided to walk around some different shops in Tiberius. We figured that since we have an adult with us, there would be no chances of us being followed or stalked today. WRONG. What's sad about this particular instance, is that these three creepy old men decided to follow us in pure daylight. Now if they would've read the "Kidnapping- How To" handbook, they would've known that nightfall is prime time for business. Geez, at least the guy last night had enough common sense to stalk us in the dark. This city is a dangerous place for a youngin' like me...but don't worry Mom and Dad, you taught me well enough to know not to hang out in strange places by myself. Here's a funny entry from my journal: "We're getting so many freaking stares that it's actually starting to get to the point of annoying." Haha, and I wasn't joking when I wrote that.The time right now is 10 pm and I'm just outside in my pajamas, barefoot on the balcony. When I close my eyes I can hear the waves crashing against the Galilee shore, laughter resounding from the boardwalk below, and the lonely echo of a jazz saxophone. You don't hear these sounds before falling asleep back on the farm; and that's what makes it so magical.